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GLIDE MEASUREMENTS ! NUMBERS and obsession !!! :-)

Looking at the glide numbers, is like seeing a beautiful food dish just before tasting it ....Knowing that all measurements are made in calm air(no thermals), and in those conditions we practicably "don't" fly.Thermal flying and transitions are made in moving air,and in those conditions a glider can change from its good performance on paper to less performance in real air and the opposite also.

Glider X that has a glide of 8.5 on paper, could reach the other side much higher than glider Y that have a glide of 9.0 on paper.Why? Because the ability of glider X in head wind glides and moving air is much better than glider Y in converting those bumps to lift and still moving forward ,rather than ,when hitting those lifts glider Y stops and dive loosing the glide.

Glide measurements are pure marketing ,but they still are interesting in putting some spices under the pilots nose ;-) .

Glides wingtip to wingtip in different conditions will show gliders ability much better.And that's why i do the videos.May be we should have a coefficient in efficiency rather than a poor "glide number" on paper. ;-)

BEST GLIDER

Comparisons are only to get an idea what the glider will be and feel like.Some like it soft on the brakes ,others find it too jumpy...But the best glider is the one that each individual pilot will have the most fun with.For some it could be the glider that out-climb or out-glide your club mates....But for most ,it is the one that will give you a smile and a satisfying happy feeling immediately after you land.That's the glider you must choose.So there is no best glider rather than best feeling for a glider.Fly SAFE,Ziad.